Emory Upton

August 27, 1839 - March 15, 1881

from The New York Times, March 16, 1881:

THE SUICIDE OF GEN. UPTON
FOUND DEAD IN HIS ROOM IN SAN
FRANCISCO.
DISCOVERED WITH A REVOLVER IN HIS HAND
AND A BULLET-WOUND IN HIS BRAIN---
LETTERS LEFT GIVING A WARNING OF
HIS DEATH---IMPRESSIONS AS TO HIS
MOTIVE.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 15.---Brevet Major-
Gen. Emory Upton, United States Army, was found
dead in his bed at the Presidio, this morning, having
shot himself through the head some time during
the night. Gen. Upton retired at about his usual
hour last night, having spent the evening in social
converse. The first intimation of the tragedy
was obtained this morning between 8 and 9
o'clock, when his orderly went to call the General.
Receiving no answer to his knock, the orderly
opened the door and found the officer dead in
bed. An alarm was instantly given, and
several officers of the regiment, having
hastened to the room, it was discovered
that the General had committed suicide.
A revolver was still grasped in his hand
and a bullet wound through his mouth into the
brain told the history of his death plainly. The
body was cold and stiff, and life had evidently been
extinct several hours, probably since midnight. No
papers or anything that might serve to indi-
cate the cause of the act have as yet been discov-
ered, but neither the body nor effects in his room
have been touched, awaiting the arrival of the
Coroner.
From the appearance of Gen. Upton's room this
morning, he must have sat up until late the night
before, writing and destroying manuscript and
burning many papers. He left two letters - one to
his siter, dated March 13, but apparently written
last night, in which he intimated that something
might happen; the other, which was unfinished,
was addressed to Capt. Dyer, in which Gen.
Upton expressed his opinion that his "Revised
Tactics" would be a failure. The letters will not
be publisheduntil after the inquest to-morrow.
Among the Army friends of the deceased officer his
suicide is attributed to fear that by the failure of
his work on tactics he would lose reputation. The
impression among others is that grief at the loss of
his wife prompted the deed.
THE DEAD OFFICER'S SERVICES.
Gen. Emory Upton was born in this City in
1840. He was consequently in his forty-first year.
He entered the Military Academy at West Point on
July 1, 1856, and was graduated on May 6, 1861,
standing eighth in his class. His first position was
as Second Lieutenant in the Fourth Artillery, and
his first service was the drilling of volunteers at
Washington from May 7 to 27, 1861. On the latter
he was appointed aid-de-camp to Brig.
Gen. D. Tyler, and served in that capacity first
in the defenses at Washington and then through-
out the Manassas campaign. He was under fire at
Blackburn's Ford and at the first battle of Bull
Run, where he was so severely wounded as to com-
pel his retirement on sick leave of absence until
August 14, when he resumed duty in the defenses of
Washington. In March of the following year he
was given command of a battery and went through
the Peninsula campaign with the Army of
the Potomac, being engaged in the siege of
Yorktown, the action at West Point, the
battle of Gaine's Mill and the battle of Glendale.
He was then promoted to the command of an artil-
lery brigade in the First Division of the Sixth Corps,
and soon afterward to the Colonelcy of the One
Hundred and Twenty-first New-York Volunteers,
serving as such in the Maryland campaign of 1862,
the Rappahannock campaign of 1862-3, and the
Pennsylvania campaign of 1863. He took part in
the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fred-
ericksburg, and Salem Heights, and in the ad-
vance upon Falmouth, Va. After a forced march
of 35 miles he arrived in time to participate effe-
tually in the battle of Gettysburg, and, at its con-
clusion,assisted in pursuing the fleeing enemy as
far as Warrenton, Va. He was then placed in com-
mand of a brigade of the Sixth Corps. In this ca-
pacity he served throughout the Rapidan campaign
of 1863,being engaged in the capture of the rebel
works at Rappahannock Station and in the opera-
tions of Mine Run. For gallant and meritorious
services on the first-named occasion he was brevet-
ted Major Nov. 8, 1863. He went through the Rich-
mond campaign of 1863-4, the Washington cam-
paign of 1864, and the Shenandoah campaign of the
same year. He took part in the battles of the
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Peters-
burg, around Washington and Opequan.
He was wounded at Spottsylvania while leading
the assaulting column of 12 regiments of the Sixth
Corps upon the enemy's intrenchments on the
second day, and was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel
on the field for his gallantry. Two days afterward,
on May 12, 1864, he was promoted to be a Brigadier-
General of Volunteers. He was wounded
again at Opequan, and was obliged to
remain on sick leave for nearly a month
on account of it. He was brevetted
Colonel on the field of Opequan, and a month later,
on Oct. 19, 1864, received an additional brevet as
Major-General of Volunteers for gallant and meri-
torious services at that battle. When he recov-
ered he was given command of the Fourth Cavalry
Division, and participated in Gen. J.H. Wilson's
operations in Alabama and Georgia in the early
part of 1865, taking part in the action at Monte-
vallo and at Plantersville, in the assault
of Selma, and in the assault and capture of
Columbus. He had previously been made a full
Captain of Artillery on Feb. 22, 1865. For his gal-
lantry at the capture of Selma he was breveted
as Brigadier-General United States Army, to date
from March 13, 1865, and for gallant and meritorious
services in the field during the rebellion he received
a brevet of the same date as Major-General United
States Army. In June, 1865, he was stationed at
the Nashville Cavalry depot.